Becca was working on a computer that was shifting between english and the alien language as the translation program struggled to keep it readable. She was supposed to be doing homework, but she had a far more important goal in mind. The loss of her powers made her feel... a little sad. She was now just a normal human. A human girl...
She had been in this body, grew up in it for many years and it felt normal to her now. She rarely needed to use her powers after the defeat of the Enemy...
...what exactly were magic girls supposed to do, once their purpose had been achieved?
All that hurt, that pain... twisting and changing of their lives, their very identity... to sacrifice and ensure the survival of everyone else...
... but why?
Becca didn't have any answer, and while not many thought of magic girl six... Becca thought of her a lot, if only because of her glaring absence. She was never part of their final battle, they didn't even know of her existence. She was not part of their magic circle, and did her 'own thing', to the point that nobody even knew her identity. Who was she? What were her thoughts on magic? Who was she 'before' she transformed? What was her magical companion? Their own companions departed... what of hers?
... nobody seemed to care. For the basic reason that, she was not there.
Maybe it was because she was a multiple of three, that Becca thought of her. She wasn't really sure why.
The ex-magic girl had a feeling that she was close to finding out who she was. She had taken all the various newspaper sightings, and had a general idea of where she might live... and now that the magic girls had 'grown up', there was no way she could hide who she really was... no way at all.
Becca glanced down at the three breasts that stood out from her chest. "No... no way to hide at all. I'll find you magic girl six... then maybe we can restore all our powers."
Cliff was mad as anything at the end of the meeting between his teacher and mother. He said very little, and his mom said she will try to discipline him.
... He knew that wasn't really likely. Sure he got scolded at, but he really didn't care.
God! He really hated the changed. Things were so much better when it was just humans around. At least it was a fair world back then. Cliff was a bit of an x-men fan. He was not ignorant of the idea that humans would probably dislike any 'mutations'... heck, he even rooted for the mutants, until the whole comic turned into garbage.
...but after living like this for the last few years, it slowly dawned on him that maybe, they had a point. Maybe M-day was a good thing...
That seed of doubt bloomed into the hate he now had towards them, as well as a callous attitude of just 'what was the point' in doing well now? All his own friends he used to have had become changed... and he was human. The changed were running everything now, because they were so much better then humans!
Then there was his father...
... he died when he was so young, that he didn't really remember him. What would he have done in this situation? He had no idea.
Still... with the availability of magic... real magic now, the scales could be tipped in his favour. He wanted to try a magic spell... a real one. He had downloaded the basic package from dungeons and dragons, and found the one he wanted...
... the spell of Fox Cunning.
Now despite the name, it most certainly did not turn you into a fox... (He had to re-read it a hundred times to be absolutely sure.) The spell merely increased intelligence. Indeed there were loads of spells that could increase the basic 'stats' of a person... and there was no reason he couldn't try them all. Greater strength.. dexterity.. wisdom... intelligence, and charisma. Of course he had to become smarter first before he tried anything else.
and if it worked once, why not cast it again? If he became smart enough, maybe he could do more magics! He could even try to find out how his own father died...
He looked over the spell once more, to make sure he understood the writing perfectly. He closed the door to his room, and started the enchantment.
"okay... throw the tuft of hair into the air, and recite these words..." he said looking over his notes.
Cliff had found some of the fox hair in the garden. It wasn't easy but... he got it. That was probably the hardest part in doing any of these spells. You needed actual components to make it work... and that was getting harder to come by.
Cliff spoke the words, and felt the curious rush of energy... the spell was complete.
He tried to think of something smart...
... nothing.
He tried to do some mental calculations but he certainly wasn't doing that any better then before.
"What's going-" Then he gasped as he heard his voice. "Oh... no..."
Arachne wasted no time, as she showed Shawn how their species create the special silk. It was... somewhat intimate, to explain how the various glands worked, and Shawn had a psychological disconnection to the spider body that made up her legs and thorax. It was a bridge she had to gap, to understand the nature of the body she had now and to utilise it.
Arachne smiled a little, obviously pleased to teach her wondrous techniques. "By applying the correct force, you can choose the thickness of the web, and how much cross-threads it has on the fibres. It is stronger then anything made in my time... and I doubt even in the age of Technology, you created anything to compare to it."
Shawn wasn't sure. "Well... we have something called nano-fibres. It's... pretty close to spider silk."
"Interesting... and how difficult is it to make? The larger spider started to collect the silk Shawn made into carefully placed bundles.
"Very...difficult," admitted Shawn. How many people, machines and equipment did it require to make carbon fibre? Probably a lot. It was the most expensive material one could actually buy, wasn't it?
"Yet you can make this silk, naturally and easily... I believe you have made enough for me to work at some basic clothing for you. Hold still while I get your measurements."
Shawn was annoyed a little but tried to keep her composure as Arachne worked. She was so meticulous, and looked to her with... well... it was hard to describe. It was like Shawn was the first person she had talked to in a long time... which may well be true. Who knows? "Why do you live here alone Arachne?"
"... I'm not... completely alone. But I have no human company... I am a monster, after all." She said grimly. "Just like you... a monster amongst other monsters, but I am separate even to them. You are... the only one like me. Similar... even to where we both come from."
Shawn looked down at that thought. Was this world at war with 'monsters'?
Arachne placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "But unlike me... you wont be alone," the elder spider woman vowed. "We have to stick together..."
Shawn watched dizzily as Arachne worked on the silk she had... produced (Yuck). Arachne had straightened it, and was now working on it with her many legs, and her human hands. Each part seem to do its own thing in a dazzling display of skill that bordered on impossible.
Still Arachne was not too pleased with the material she was using. "This silk is... not too bad, for a first attempt. You must not feel any stress when making it, or you create poor chains in the threads. It's very important..." arachne wasn't too worried though. She could turn trees into clothes...
Shawn blushed that she was judging her on something her body actually made... to be honest, the whole thing sickened her. But she was stuck with this and actually glad that someone was here to help her. Shawn wondered Arachne's web, using the time to practice on her weird legs. She never did much of it back home, certainly not on alien terrain like this.
Finally, Arachne smiled. "I'm done."
Shawn looked at it. "B-But that's a dress!" She wailed. "No! No No- I can't wear that!"
Arachne looked at her sternly. The dress shimmered in curious silvers, unlike the dark black that the larger spider wore. "Shawn... I moulded this to your appearance. It is perfect for you. I do not make anything imperfect, and as my daughter you will wear the most perfect clothes available."
Shawn looked angrily. "Look- Arachne I am really glad of all your help so far, but you can't dress me in that!"
"Would you rather be naked?"
Shawn just fumed. "...No... okay... fine. Let's just... get it over with." Shawn had to comfort herself with the fact that she was a girl now, and anything she wore would probably look 'dress-like', anyway.
Arachne smiled again and placed the dress over shawn's head with minimal fuss. She looked her over appraisingly but finally, with approval. "Adorable... Don't worry. This dress has a few interesting 'enchantments' on it... it will enhance your beauty... we are truly on the path of becoming gods..."
"...don't want to be pretty," said Shawn. "This whole.. girl thing... It isn't me."
"You'll have to cope with it for just a little while. I need to present you to my subjects."
"Subjects?" Shawn blinked.
"Oh yes... did I not mention I am 'Queen' Arachne here? That makes you the Princess..." Arachne quickly cut the side of a web, that showed a dark alcove. "Behold! My daughter! Princess Sasha!"
Shawn was quickly pushed onto the precipice. Looking down she could see the writhing mass of various large spiders people. "Oh... hell..."
Arachne had an entire army at hand... they looked... just like them? Only not quite like them at all. Somehow she 'knew' there was only a semblance of humanity in them. Not in a 'bad' way, but.. they just didn't seem to have the same consciousness as humans.
"Monsters, my daughter. Our monsters... we rule them as Gods... with you added into the mix, we should have enough power to take over the village of Spring... then maybe one of the others. Finally the stalemate will be broken."
"A-Arachne.. I don't want to hurt people!" Sasha said fearfully.
"We won't... think of it as a game. It's really just a game..."
